Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Sunday December 7, 2014
The principle of going from death to glory.
When Christians die, angels will carry them through the first heaven and then the second and finally the third heaven – the home of God.
1. The first heaven is in the atmosphere above the earth, basically where Satan and the fallen angels dwell and control; EPH 2:1-2.
2. The second heaven is where the moon and the stars dwell which tell of the glory of God; Psa 19.
3. The Third heaven, the basic dwelling place of the Trinity and of all believers.
REV 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away,
and there is no longer any sea.
When we take off on this magnificent journey, we’ll literally soar through the atmosphere that surrounds the earth = the first heaven.
Then we will rapidly enter into the second heaven. We will go triumphantly through the second heaven into the celestial magnificence of the third heaven = our eternal home for now.
It is the place where TLJC is seated at the right hand of God” (HEB 8:1).
It is true that in 2CO 5:8 we will be face to face with the Lord but that is talking about how He and His elect angels will accompany us on our journey to Heaven.
Have you ever wondered; “Where is heaven?” Have you ever thought about it?
It appears from a study of the Scriptures that heaven is located in the North in our universe.
PSA 75:6 “For promotion (salvation) cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.”
JOB 26:7 “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.”
The first scientific fact is that the earth is hung in space upon nothing.
The Egyptians, for example, believed that the earth was a saucer held up by four pillars with a ring of mountains around the edge to keep the water from running off.
The Greeks believed that the earth rested upon the back of an Atlas.
The Hindus believed that the earth was carried on an elephant’s back and that the elephant was standing on a turtle swimming in a cosmic sea.
If you ask him what “gravity” is, he will answer “that which holds the earth in place.”
Lucifer (Satan) in his rebellion (when he tried to overthrow God) spoke of this void in the north.
Isaiah 14:13 “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the side of the north.”
“But you are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to our innumerable company of angels (HEB 12:22).”
IJo 5:13 “These things I am writing to you that you believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”
It’s described as “. . . the city which has fixed and firm foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God” (HEB 11:10).
It’s 1500 miles long, wide and in height!
The point being is that God doesn’t do things in a small way.
We are told in the Word of God that the New Jerusalem is fifteen hundred miles wide and fifteen hundred miles long, but it’s also fifteen hundred miles high.
The best way I know to visualize the immense height of the holy city is to take the illustration of fifty percent of the size of the United States and “stand it on end” to look at it vertically.
It’s fifteen hundred miles long by fifteen hundred miles wide by fifteen hundred miles high.
The size of New Jerusalem is somewhere in the vicinity of seven hundred to eight hundred times as large as the United States.
Because “the Architect and Builder is God” (HEB 11:10).
REV 21:17 And he measured its wall, seventy‑two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.
Peter, Andrew, the two James, John, Philip, Bartholomew; Thomas, Matthew, Thaddaeus, Simon, and the one who replaced Judas Iscariot, the apostle Paul.
Jasper is a translucent stone of many different colors. Sapphire is blue. Chalcedony is a bluish white.
Emeralds are green. Sardonyx is made up of alternating layers of white and orange-red. Sardius is blood red.
Chrysolite is yellow or greenish yellow. Beryl is transparent bluish green. Topaz is yellowish.
Chrysoprase is greenish. Jacinth is red with a mixture of yellow. Amethysts are purple.
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words says the word that’s translated “jasper” in this passage of Scripture is “a translucent stone of various colors, especially that of fire.”
On the east side, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, On the south side, Reuben, Simeon, Gad, On the west side, Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, On the north side, Dan, Asher, Naphtali.
The Lord’s Supper
1. The first is that Communion or the Lord’s supper is a test for true Christian fellowship.
Fellowship with God the Father is found in 1JO 1:3 “Indeed our fellowship is with the Father,”
Fellowship with the Son is found in 1CO 1:9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Fellowship with the Holy Spirit is found in 2CO 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
2. The second principle is that the communion service is a test of your application of doctrine.
3. The third principle is that ritual without reality is meaningless.
a. The bread which speaks of the impeccability of the humanity of Christ and His qualification to go to the cross as the lamb without spot and without blemish.
b. The cup which represents the salvation work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
4. The eating and drinking portrays salvation by faith alone in Christ alone.
5. The importance of relating the communion service to worship.
JOH 4:24 tells us “they who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth or doctrine.”
6. The importance of the rebound technique because this is the means of recovering fellowship and being filled with the Spirit.